I first created this site back in 1998 to document the wild plants that I encountered. But it has grown into a clearinghouse of information on landscaping, backyard birds, butterfly gardening, plant identification and making paper from plant fiber. After leaving Kansas, I thought of deleting the site. But realize it has a wealth of information that people rely upon.
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Books
About Reference Books
These books are filled with a wealth of information on the topic of plants. The list was updated in December, 2024 to add updated titles. The Publisher and Publishing date were added to the tables.
Identification of Weeds, Wildflowers, Grasses
Identification of Woody Trees, Shrubs, Vines
Restoration & Reconstruction of Habitats
Landscaping with Native Plants
Butterfly & Pollinator Attracting and Identification
Identification of Weeds, Wildflowers, and Grasses
These are my favorite field guides for weeds, wildflowers, and grasses.
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University Press of Kansas March 27, 2015 |
Michael John Haddock (Author), Craig C. Freeman (Author), Janét E. Bare (Author) This is the book I turn to when I can't find a plant in my field guides. It contains all non-woody plants in Kansas. |
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University Press of Kansas March 29, 2024 |
Wildflowers and Grasses of Kansas: A Field Guide, Revised and Expanded Edition Michael J. Haddock (Author) This title is a must have, as it covers the entire state of Kansas and includes grasses. |
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Falcon Guides September 1, 2005 |
Doug Ladd (Author) This title is my favorite for the tallgrass prairie region. If you live in the eastern third of Kansas, this is the books to have. |
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Bison Books September 1, 2008 |
Wildflowers of the Western Plains: A Field Guide Zoe Merriman Kirkpatrick (Author), Benny J. Simpson (Foreword), David K Northington (Foreword) If you live in western Kansas this book will be the one you want. |
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University Press of Kansas February 21, 2014 |
Field Guide to the Common Grasses of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska Iralee Barnard (Author) People find grasses difficult to identify, but now there is a book for people wanting to learn to identify our grasses. |
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Falcon Guides April 3, 2012 |
Don Kurz (Author) I prefer this book when identifying woodland wildflowers. It is also a good choice for southeast Kansas, where the Ozarks enter the state. |
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University Press of Kansas June 15, 1983 |
Field Guide to the Common Weeds of Kansas T. M. Barkley (Author) This guide covers common weeds found in Kansas. The county range maps are especially useful. |
Identification of Woody Plants such as Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines
These titles focus strictly on woody plants.
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University Press of Kansas May 29, 2019 |
Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines in Kansas Michael John Haddock (Author), Craig C. Freeman (Author) This is a fantastic book for identifying trees, shrubs and woody vines in Kansas. It’s an update of the previous version by H. A. Stephens. The keys, color images and range maps are especially useful.
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Adventure Publications April 19, 2022 |
Stan Tekiela (Author) This is an updated edition of the previous title. Many of the trees found in Missouri are also found in Kansas. Use this guide to help with tree identification. |
Restoration & Reconstruction of Habitats
These are books about restoration and reconstruction of prairies, savannas, woodlands and wetlands.
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Second Edition, Revised Island Press July 29, 2005 |
The Tallgrass Restoration Handbook: For Prairies, Savannas, and Woodlands Stephen Packard (Editor), Cornelia F. Mutel (Editor) If you are serious about restoring your land, this is a must have title.It includes species lists, management techniques, and invasive species control information. |
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University Of Iowa Press August 1, 2013 |
A Practical Guide to Prairie Reconstruction: Second Edition Carl Kurtz (Author) Use this book if you are planning on planting a prairie on old cropland. |
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University Of Iowa Press April 25, 2010 |
The Tallgrass Prairie Center Guide to Prairie Restoration in the Upper Midwest Daryl Smith (Author), Dave Williams (Author), Greg Houseal (Author), Kirk Henderson (Author) Use this book for prairie restoration. |
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Wetland Restoration and Training LLC September 1, 2022 |
Wetland Restoration and Construction A Technical Guide Thomas R. Biebighauser (Author) Use this guide to restore drained wetlands and build new wetlands. |
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University Of Iowa Press May 1, 2009 |
The Ecology and Management of Prairies in the Central United States Chris Helzer (Author) Use this guide if you already have prairie lands but need to learn how to manage them. |
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Texas A&M University Press October 26, 2009 |
Conducting Prescribed Fires: A Comprehensive Manual by John R. Weir (Author) Fire is an integral management tool in managing prairie and woodlands in the midwest.
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Prairies and Grasslands
These books are good for understanding the prairie.
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Greystone Books August 3, 2004 |
Candace Savage (Author) This is a good book for understanding the various prairie types and their wildlife. |
| Oxford University Press
July 5, 2013 |
Prairie Directory of North America: The United States, Canada, and Mexico Charlotte Adelman (Author), Bernard Schwartz (Author) This is a good book to use when searching out original prairies. |
Landscaping with Native Plants
Use these books to learn about landscaping with native plants.
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Timber Press April 1, 2009 |
Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants, Updated and Expanded Douglas W. Tallamy (Author), Rick Darke (Foreword) This book explains the importance of using native plants in our landscapes to support wildlife. In contrast it explains how most non-native plants support very little wildlife. Our native plants are eaten by herbivores (mostly insects). These insects in turn become food for other insects and many nesting birds. Without the insects, most birds find little to feed their nestlings. By creating landscapes of alien plants that support no insects, we create a sterile landscape. This book should be required reading for everyone. It really explains the roles of plants and insects in sustaining life on the planet. |
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Timber Press July 1, 2014 |
The Living Landscape: Designing for Beauty and Biodiversity in the Home Garden Rick Darke (Author), Douglas W. Tallamy (Author) Learn how to support wildlife with your landscape.
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Timber Press February 15, 2004 |
Native Trees for North American Landscapes Guy Sternberg (Author), James W. Wilson (Author), Jim Wilson (Author) Trees are often an integral part of our landscapes, but most people do not plant our life sustaining native trees. This is an excellent guide for choosing our many unique and beautiful native trees & shrubs for landscaping. Of course these native trees support life by nurturing hundreds of insect species that in turn provide food for nesting birds. |
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University of Wisconsin Press November 15, 1980 |
The Prairie Garden: Seventy Native Plants You Can Grow in Town or Country J. Robert Smith (Author) Beatrice S. Smith (Author) Even though this is an older book (1980), it is still full of good advice for growing native prairie plants from seed. Its best quality are the detailed accounts on growing 70 species of prairie plants. Included in the accounts are height, flowering time, seed collection date, seed treatment, propagation, and companion plants. It's also a good guide for creating a small prairie planting. |
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Conservation Commission of the State of Missouri January 1, 2002 |
Native Landscaping for Wildlife and People Dave Tylka (Author) This is such a good book for landscaping in Missouri with native plants and works well in eastern Kansas as well. |
Butterfly & Pollinator Attracting and Identification
Once you start growing native plants you will be amazed at the variety of butterflies and other pollinators that you attract. These reference books are a great resource for identification and providing necessary habitat.
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Adventure Publications May 16, 2023 |
Butterflies of the Midwest Field Guide Jaret C. Daniels (Author) This book covers 198 species of butterflies and is useful for Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. |
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Timber Press March 23, 2016 |
Gardening for Butterflies: How You Can Attract and Protect Beautiful, Beneficial Insects The Xerces Society (Author) This is a fantastic book that explains all the stages of a butterflies life and the host and nectar plants that they require to prosper. |
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Storey Publishing, LLC February 26, 2011 |
The Xerces Society (Author), Dr. Marla Spivak (Foreword) This is another book that should be in everyone's personal library. Learn about our pollinators as well as their habitat needs for nesting and foraging. |
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Pollination Press LLC January 1, 2014 |
Heather N. Holm (Author) Another favorite book. I like how it focuses on specific plant species and specific pollinator species. |
Papermaking from Plant Fiber
Some of my favorite books on making paper from plants.
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Storey Publishing, LLC May 15, 2000 |
The Papermaker's Companion: The Ultimate Guide to Making and Using Handmade Paper Helen Hiebert (Author) A must have book that describes everything you need to know about making paper |
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Storey Publishing, LLC January 1, 2006 |
Papermaking with Garden Plants & Common Weeds Helen Hiebert (Author) The definite guide to making paper from plant fiber |
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Dover Publications March 17, 2011 |
Papermaking: The History and Technique of an Ancient Craft Dard Hunter (Author) This is THE textbook of papermaking. |
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